Other Courses

LEAPS Transition course SCQF Level 7

Course Overview
The LEAPS Transitions Course is designed to give students the skills and experience they need to make a positive transition from school to university. Throughout the course, students work with academics and students from other schools on first-year university-level academic skills, developing confidence and an understanding of what it takes to be successful at university. This is a unique opportunity to get the ‘uni’ experience before starting for real.

Location of Course
The course will be a blend of remote online sessions and in-person sessions (TBD) on university campuses in Edinburgh. Travel arrangements and costs will be supported by LEAPS.

Course Structure  
• The course will be taught via interactive lectures, workshops, tutorial discussion, online participation and independent study. Students will also participate in project work, library research and meetings with tutors and students.
• Semester one will focus on academic skills and a writing assessment
• Semester two will have a lecture series and a group poster assessment.
• The course forms one option on a student’s S6 timetable.
• Sessions will take place on a Tuesday and a Thursday afternoon from September 2022 until March 2023. 
• Students must attend these live sessions whether digitally or in person, and their classes will comprise a mix of students from other schools.

Skills
• Higher Education Academic Skills (critical thinking, academic writing, academic resources, discussion & presentation skills, academic posters, evidence including referencing and plagiarism, feedback)
• Independent Learning (self-directed study, time management, problem solving)
• Digital Literacy (virtual learning environments, online academic library collections)

Course Level
The course has been credit-rated by the Centre for Open Learning at the University of Edinburgh and is offered as a 20 credit SCQF Level 7 course, which is the same level as Advanced Higher/first-year university-level study.

Assessment  
There are two formal (graded) assessments and additional informal (formative) assessments; 
• Individual Written Assessment on Academic Skills 60% (Formal)
• Academic Poster Presentations (group work) 40% (Formal)
• Reflective zine ‘notes for my future self’ drawing on all of the themes of the course (Informal) 

Homework  
Weekly coursework (independent study) will be allocated to students. This includes weekly preparation for tutorials.

Entry Requirements  
The course is offered to LEAPS-eligible UCAS applicants and will typically be taken in S6. Use the link to see if you are LEAPS eligible. 

We have no formal entry requirements, other than we anticipate students taking the course will be planning to apply to higher education. For example, students will either have Highers/Nat 5s required for university entry or are taking these in S6.

Possible Progression
Students who take this course are likely to be aiming for university, either directly after school or via college.

University Admissions
University admissions officers may take the course into consideration when deciding if they will offer a student a place, as by taking the course students are demonstrating that they are committed to preparing for university-level study. Conversations with individual universities about how they will specifically consider the course are ongoing.

Useful Websites  

A video overview of the course can be found at: www.leapsonline.org/transitions-course

We will update this web page with more detailed information about the course as and when it is available.

Queries

If you have any queries, please contact us at leaps@ed.ac.uk